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The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
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The Polar Express

by Chris Van Allsburg

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2,1511071,528 (4.36)23
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A boy at Christmas time has to board the magical train for the North Pole. During the trip he encounters parallels to the issues we counter each and every day. His persistence allows him to reach Santa, and he finds may people are willing to be of help and developed friendships overcoming adversities. He also found satisfaction in achieving his goal.
I believe it was a parallel to life. The many people that we meet along the way some become friends as we share the same goals.
A board game based on monopoly that parallel the adversities of the train trip. Also, children can play a game that builds friendships and team work, like four square.
  MrzDee | Feb 7, 2010 |
I've seen ads for the movie and never thought I'd read the book but it was actually a great read for anyone who has ever questioned Santa's existence. A little boy is being told by classmates that their is no Santa and he will never hear Santa's bells. That night he stays up and intead of just a sleigh, he is picked up by Santa's train the Polar Express. The boy get chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas and a very special ending will help convince you to still believe!!
  dtortorice | Feb 3, 2010 |
A little boy waits to see Santa come by his house Christmas Eve, but instead a train comes. On the train, there are many other little boys and girls that are going to the North Pole to see Santa. At the North Pole, the little boy gets the first gift Santa gives, and he wants a silver bell off Santa's sleigh. He loses it on the way home but finds it Christmas morning. Only he and his sister and those who believe can hear the bell. ( )
  kelasater | Jan 31, 2010 |
Wonderful Holiday book to share with class. Book that describes what it means to have something to believe in. ( )
  klpopwell | Jan 30, 2010 |
This is a childhood story about the magic of Christmas and the magic that can come to those who believe. A young boy goes to bed on Christmas Eve, listening for the sounds of Santa's sleigh bells, but instead he hears the sound of a train outside his window. When he ventures out to see the train he is whisked away to the North Pole. Santa Caluse picks the boy to receive the first gift of Christmas, and he chooses a silver bell which he keeps with him for years to come. While the boy's parents are unable to hear the bell, the boy can hear it because he believes in the magic of Christmas.
  KayceeWeeter | Jan 30, 2010 |
Showing 1-5 of 107 (next | show all)
Mr. Van Allsburg works effectively combining the sinister and the sentimental, but it would take a poet-sociologist to explain precisely why these dark, moody sculptural pastels somehow evoke feelings of glad tidings and joy.
 
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To Karen
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On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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The Polar Express

Book description

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0395389496, Hardcover)

One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion from his sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of several award winners he's produced. The Polar Express rings with vitality and wonder. 25th Anniversary Edition Includes To commemorate this special anniversary, a lavish gift edition has been created. The set includes a silver foil border, a CD audio recording read by Liam Neeson, a note from Chris Van Allsburg, and a silvery keepsake "All Aboard" ornament.

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Van Allsburg Dear Amazon Readers, Over the past twenty-five years, many people have shared stories with me about the effect that reading The Polar Express has had on their families and on their celebration of Christmas. One of the most poignant was told to me five or six years ago at a book signing in the Midwest, on a snowy December evening. As I inscribed a book to a woman in her sixties, she told me that it was the second copy she had owned, and wanted to know if she could she tell me what had happened to the first. "Of course," I answered. A dozen years earlier the woman, who had no children of her own, befriended a neighbor, a boy of about seven, named Eddie. He would often cross his driveway to visit her. She had a collection of picture books, which she read to him, but around the holidays, the only story he ever wanted to hear, over and over, was The Polar Express. One year she offered to give him the book, but Eddie declined because he wanted to hear her read it aloud to him, which she continued to do every year until the boy and his family moved away. Years later the woman learned from a mutual acquaintance that Eddie had grown up and become a soldier. He was stationed in Iraq. Since Christmas was approaching, the woman decided to send him a gift box. She included candy, cookies, socks, and her old copy of The Polar Express. She wasn't sure what a nineteen-year-old battle-weary soldier would do with the book in an army barracks in the Middle East, but she wanted him to have it. A month later, after the holidays had passed, she received a letter from Eddie. He told her he was very happy to have heard from her and to get the box of gifts. He had opened it in his barracks, just before curfew, with some of his fellow GIs already in their bunks. A soldier in the next bunk spotted the book. He knew it well from his own childhood and asked Eddie to read it. "Out loud?" he asked. "Yeah," his buddy told him. Eddie, quietly and a little self-consciously, read The Polar Express. When he'd finished and closed the book, a moment of silence passed. Then from behind him a voice called out, "Read it again," and another joined in, "Yeah, read it again," and a third added, "This time, louder." So Eddie did. He wrote to the woman that he'd stood up and read it to his comrades just the way he remembered she had read it to him. All aboard, Chris Van Allsburg

Recipes and Activities to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Polar Express
(Click on Images for the Recipe or Activity [PDF])

Snacks for Santa Candy Cane Sugar Cookies Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel Squares Christmas Snowball Cookies Hot Chocolate Fun and Games A Polar Express Word Search A Polar Express Crossword A Polar Express Maze A Polar Express Drawing Sheet

(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:42:13 -0500)

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